QR Codes, we see them everywhere. Some might not know what I am even talking about. Best way to get information is use Wikipedia. According to good ole Wiki: QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes.

Now that we know what a QR code is, do consumers actually download the application to their phone and use the electronic reader? According to the article I found, consumers are scanning the QR codes. For US smartphone owners who report using their devices while shopping in-store (”smartphone shoppers”), the degree to which they engage in various activities differs by the type of store they are in, says Nielsen in May 2012 survey results. For example, 57% have scanned a QR code for product details while in an electronics store, compared to 36% who have done so in a department store, the next most-popular location for this activity. Other stores where smartphone shoppers have scanned QR codes are mass merchandisers (31%), grocery stores (26%), office supply stores (20%), clothing stores (16%), and convenience stores (8%). Just 5% have done so in a furniture store, and only 2% in a dollar store.

Read More

Advertising is becoming harder because of all the new technology. TV commercials are growing obsolete and being used for brand awareness for the big time companies. The increasing costs and the wide variety of channels and technology advancements (DVR, TIVO) are making it impossible for marketers to use TV as an advertisement option.

The next best method is to internet radio. Sites like Pandora are on the rise for users. According to www.wired.com Pandora announced last month that it has registered over 80 million users since chief strategy officer Tim Westergren, founded the company slightly over a decade ago. That’s a lot of people, considering that Pandora is only available in the United States, and that would be more than a quarter of the population.

Check out this article I found on Internet Radio Advertising….

Internet radio use is on the rise, reaching 42% of US broadband households, and this has translated to higher effectiveness for advertisers, says TargetSpot [pdf] in a May 2012 study. 58% of listeners surveyed recalled having seen or heard an internet radio ad in the past 30 days, up 11.5% from 52% in the company’s 2011 study. Of those, 44% responded in some way to an ad, up 10% from 40% a year earlier. The most common response, at 20% of all internet radio listeners, was to visit the company’s website (up from 17% in 2011). 17% searched online for more information about the product or service (up from 15%), and 14% clicked on the ad displayed in the internet radio media player or website (up from 13%). 12% also became a fan of the product or service or clicked like on a social networking website, up from 10% in 2011.

Read More:

Hey fellow student’s,

Jackie here again, to give you quick tips to be successful in Tony’s class. The semester is coming to an end quickly. Remember to keep participating and start working on those Final papers, I know the due date seems far, but don’t let it creep on you. The papers need to have relevant information and need to be loaded with charts, graphs, and examples. In general look how Tony teaches his classes, very hands on, he uses industry examples and explains through charts and graphs. To get a solid A on the papers, source information from blackboard documents and class notes. Also he will review your work, if you show ahead of time he will critique everything. Keep working hard, participate and ask Tony to review your work and you will be sure to receive an A in his class.

Also don’t forget to thank Tony for everything he does, he loves his students and does a lot for them!!!

Check out this article I found about social media....

Adoption of social media by customer service practitioners is high and has its benefits, but most are not tracking the transaction costs for the channels they are using, details Sword Ciboodle in survey results released in May 2012. In terms of social service channels currently supported by respondents, Facebook leads, with 60% indicating support, just ahead of Twitter (59%). Even so, just 13% say they track the cost of Facebook for customer service, and just 15% track Twitter’s cost for this activity. Similarly, less than 1 in 10 track the transaction costs of other activities on these channels, including technical support, service with sales, and proactive service

Interested: Read More

Check out my Niece's company: Purebliss Eats

About this project:

Pure Bliss Eats is a family owned company. Nicole Culver primarily does all the work with the help of her very amazing family behind the scenes. Her family, especially her husband Dan, has been very dedicated and instrumental in getting Pure Bliss Eats off the ground. Luckily, a large part of the family lives in a 2 block radius and offers to help frequently. We pay in large sums of granola, but are hoping that changes SOON.

Nicole has been a LONG time health lover, in that she knows the importance of HIGH quality ingredients, organic & NON-GMO foods. When starting Pure Bliss Eats it was very important to her to use the BEST ingredients that satisfy all of those requirements. Pure Bliss Eats also satisfies every consumer, offering 2 different vegan varieties of granola and vegan chocolate balls.

Making It Happen:

We need you! In order to make all of this happen, we need to work with a co-packer. Through working with an organic & certified gluten free co-packer we will be able to fill large orders faster and quicker and most importantly, drive the cost WAY down for YOU. It will be the same great product, for a lower price, available MORE places. The quality and taste will be the same, while getting lower cost organic & gluten free granola. What's bad about that?

With getting our products to a co-packer Nicole can focus on getting her product to more stores (currently we are in 8 stores in only February of this year...and growing FAST) and expanding the line of healthy snacks. Nicole has many ideas on adding more flavors and even different types of snacks, but she can't work on recipes until she has more time.

All funds donated to this Kickstarter project go directly to the start up costs for the co-packer and in getting certified organic, gluten free & verified NON-GMO.

Want to learn more visit: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1932830816/pure-bliss-making-healthy-snacking-easy-and-delici?ref=email

Check out this White paper I found:

As the economy picks up steam, organizations are increasing their investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology as a way to help grow their business. Yet because the recovery remains uncertain, organizations remain concerned with squeezing the most from their IT investment dollars.

This white paper describes two strategies organizations can employ to maximize the returns from their ERP investments: Use a proven methodology to speed implementation and achieve ROI faster, and define and track metrics to measure progress in meeting business objectives.

Read More

Google is always coming up with the latest and greatest technology to help businesses. Recently YouTube has launched its Google AdWroks for video, for the general public. This is a simple self-service, pay-per-view service. This feature will enable small companies to promote themselves to their target audience, without spending a fortune. This new feature falls under Google’s “TrueView” family which includes: in-view, in-search, in-slate, and in-display. However with this new platform the advertiser is only charged if the viewer watches “at least 30 seconds” of the ad; which in marketing is long enough to get your message through to the target audience. Also with this service, advertisers can see how effective their campaigns are, by measuring how many people watched their video, how many of them went to the company’s website, and how many of them watched more of the company’s videos on YouTube.

Read More